Ridley Scott’s ‘Blade Runner’ Sequel Looking to Hire Original Writer

There's been rumblings about the Ridley Scott-directed 'Blade Runner' follow-up for a while, but there hasn't been a script. It looks like Hampton Fancher - one of the two credited writers on the original - is in talks to come back and write what is now being called a sequel.

If Fancher comes on it's a little surprising. David Peoples wrote the final drafts of the movie, and Fancher's original version was completely different than the finished film. One wonders if anyone will think to base it on another story by Phillip K. Dick.

From what The Hollywood Reporter tells us, it would take place years later, which (if the director's cut is to be believed) means that both Harrison Ford and Sean Young's characters couldn't be a part of the narrative. If we trust the theatrical cut, it's possible that both could make appearances. It's also possible that versions of their characters (or any of the replicants from the original) could exist, but to get them to look like they did in 1982 they'd need to go the 'Tron: Legacy' CGI route.

Scott and company don't really like the term prequel for his upcoming 'Prometheus' and it's easy to understand why: A prequel's job is usually to neatly tie into the existing material, and it seems like 'Prometheus' isn't going to do that. And if there's no returning characters, then the 'Blade Runner' film will be what may become a new trend that Scott's starting: 'in universe' follow-ups. Which is funny, because that used to be the premise for (often) hacky Science Fiction books that would do this to cash in on a brand name like 'Star Wars.'